a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: it looks like president trump's border wall is going to be delayed. he's facing a government shutdown and mexico's not gonna pay. if they decide to do it, it is in their own sovereign right. the only thing that is clear is that there is no way mexico is not going to pay for it. a special report from lebanon, where refugees from syria are falling victim to the illegal trade in human organs. the united states begins to deploy its anti—missile system in korea a day after the north put on a massive display of firepower. the reality of... you hear the reaction from the audience, so i need to address one more point... and ivanka trump is greeted by groans in germany as she defends her father's record on women's rights. another of president trump's

signature policies is facing a delay. he's now said he's willing to delay trying to secure us federal funds to build his wall along part of the border with mexico until september. the president has until the end of the week to agree federal spending plans with congress, or risk marking his hundredth day in office with a government shutdown. our north america editor jon sopel has more details. reporter: mr president, are you going to insist on border funding? donald trump made his fortune as a builder. now the president is staking a huge amount of political capital on the most controversial construction project of his life, a 2,000—mile—long wall to separate the us from its southern neighbour, mexico. and no—one can say it has come out of the blue. it was almost his

campaign theme tune. we're going to do the wall, and by the way, who's going to pay for the wall? crowd: mexico! who is going to pay for the wall? mexico! who? mexico! but the mexicans have been blunt in their response. we're not paying a peso towards it, something their economy minister spelt out today to the bbc. if they decide to do it, it's in their own sovereign right. the only thing that is clear is that there is no way mexico is going to pay for it. so donald trump, initially at least, will have to rely on the us taxpayer. busy day. and though there is growing acceptance that is not going to happen right now, he is still talking tough. the wall gets built, 100%. thank you very much. reporter: wait, mr president. when will the wall be built? we'll start soon, very soon. we're already preparing, we're doing plans, we're doing specifications. but the government runs out of money this friday,

and could face another shutdown like it did four years ago, when thousands of staff were laid off, and federal buildings and monuments closed. democrats will agree to an emergency funding package, but only if the white house removes the proposed expenditure on the wall. and although republicans do have a majority in the senate, it's slim, and to get this measure passed you need what is called a supermajority, 60 votes, and they only have 52. president trump, approaching his 100th day in office, has faced a stark choice, either a government shutdown or a personal climb—down. because in democratic senators the president has come across a rock—solid wall which there is no way round. it's been a harsh lesson in the differences between the ease of campaigning and the struggles of governing. it's left democrats savouring another victory. it's really good news that the president seems to be taking the wall off the table

in the negotiations we're having on an appropriations bill this week. the white house unveiled a new website today, celebrating the president's 100 days. it has been high—energy and high—tempo, a raft of executive orders and growing economic confidence. but, on his three signature policies, the travel ban, health reform, and now the border wall, donald trump hasn't succeeded in the way that he had promised. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let's take a closer look at the border region. the total length of the us—mexico border is over 3,000 kilometres, or nearly 2,000 miles. texas makes up a large chunk of that. there is a barrier of some form already built along some of it, shown here in red. but president trump wants it to be taller and higher. as you can see, much of the texan border has no wall, partly because of the rio grande river. melissa del bosque is an investigative reporter for texas observer and specialises

in mexican border issues. she described how people living close to the border reacted to the news that plans to build the wall were delayed. i think people momentarily are relieved. i think most texans along the border don't want a wall. 95% of the land is privately owned along the river. and last time, you know... texas has a little over 100 miles of the wall. there were hundreds of land condemnations last time with the secure fence act a decade ago. some of those cases actually haven't been resolved. so it's going to be a huge battle over land if he decides to build the wall in texas. president trump says we are already preparing, doing plans and specifications. it seems clear that, apart from a big wall, it will be a series of various things, if it happens at all. and in some cases, as you say, people may not want it anyway.

but the land or the water already forms enough of a barrier? right, there's a lot of rugged terrain. there are high cliffs. there is a very large lake. there's a river. there are a lot of places where it would be very difficult and very expensive to build. a lot of homeland security officials i've been talking to have said that they would rather do something with technology rather than a barrier. theyjust don't think it will work. on that point about technology. i know that there are already a lot of sensors, a lot of pads and a lot of alarms. i think border control people say they need more humans to respond to those, don't they? yes, they do. there are more people leaving border patrol than they are able to hire. and to pay them enough. they have a problem to hire enough border agents and to pay them enough.

so manpower is a big problem right now. for all the latest on president trump's plans for a wall on the mexico border you can visit our website. a federaljudge in the united states has blocked one of president trump's executive orders which threatened to withhold funding from so—called sanctuary cities, those that shelter immigrants from federal immigration enforcement. there are several such sanctuary cities across the united states, including the president's home city of new york. its mayor bill de blasio praised the order by the north california judge, william 0rrick, saying the president was acting unconstitutionally. the white house described the ruling as bananas. aid agencies now consider the middle east the global hub for the trafficking of human organs. the flow of refugees from syria has created new opportunities to exploit desperate and vulnerable people, and traffickers are increasingly active throughout the neighbouring countries. alex forsyth went to investigate buyers and sellers in lebanon. there are distressing images in her report. shut away in the back room of a make—shift coffee shop,

a teenage boy lies in pain. "slowly, slowly", he says. he can barely move. he'sjust sold his kidney. translation: i am constantly taking painkillers. the pain is terrible. i'm exhausted. he's a refugee who fled syria when his brothers and father were killed there. at 17, he supports his mother and five sisters. desperate for money, he sought a dealer in human organs. translation: i met him at night, he blindfolded me with a bandage. i was so scared. i got paid £6,500. i've already spent most of the money paying the rent and clearing my debt.

in lebanon, syrian refugees face heavy work restrictions. aid is limited and stretched. for some, like this man, there's opportunity in the poverty. he arranges organ sales and agreed to talk to us if he remains anonymous. translation: i exploit people, that's what i do. some of my clients would have died anyway, just like this boy. he could have died in syria. i'm exploiting him, but he's benefitting. i know what i'm doing is illegal, but i'm helping people. that's how i see it. working on commission, he's a middle man, brazenly armed. he finds refugees and takes them to clinics. in the past three years, he's organised around 30 kidney sales. business, he says, is booming. translation: i was once asked to get an eye, and ifound a client who was willing to sell his eye.

do you not care about these people? do you not care that they might die? i don't really care if the client dies as long as i got what i wanted. that's not my problem what happens next, as long as the client gets paid. 0rgans are hard to transport, but we're told they can be exported to buyers around the world. all refugees are flown to nearby countries, like egypt, on fake papers to have surgery there. the middle east is becoming a hotspot in the international organ trade, according to some experts, who say the influx of refugees willing to go to extreme lengths to get money is providing a new market for brokers looking for body parts to buy, shifting the focus from china and the philippines to this region. in lebanon, lawful transplants are governed by strict rules, but despite efforts there's a lack of available organs. religious and cultural sensitivity around donating fuels the shortage.

but legitimate surgeons warn there's untold danger in illegal operations. foreigners who travelled and they obtained organs, they came with much more problems. they came with bad organs, without being masked, they acquired infections, tuberculosis, hiv and so on because those operations to start with were done in very poor circumstances. but for those already caught in this trade, the warnings come too late. translation: i already regret it, but what can i do? i didn't want to do this, but i'm desperate. i had no other choice. authorities insist cases like this are rare and they're taking action. the true scale simply isn't known, but the consequences of choices driven by desperation are all too clear. alex forsyth, bbc news, beirut. let's take a look at some

of the other stories making the news. more than $1 billion has been pledged to the un at a donor conference to help get aid to yemen, although that's only half what the organisation was asking for. un officials speak of an an entire generation being starved and crippled by war. the us and uk are backing a saudi—led coalition which is fighting rebels, backed by iran. a man in thailand has shown himself on facebook live, killing his 11—month—old daughter, before taking his own life. video was also posted on youtube. the footage was taken down by both companies. earlier this month the fatal shooting of a man in cleveland, 0hio was posted on facebook. the social media site is reviewing how best to deal with such issues. president trump's former national security adviser, michael flynn, failed to disclose that he received money from russia and turkey, according to leading members of the house of representatives oversight committee. the white house has refused to release documents related to his hiring and firing.

he was forced to resign in february when it emerged he'd misled vice president pence about his dealings with the russian ambassador. on wednesday, the entire us senate will get a briefing, from senior officials, on north korea's missile and nuclear programme. tensions are certainly not easing, an american nuclear submarine is now in the region, and an anti—missile system has started deployment. more joint manoeuvres are expected with south korea, exercises the north sees as preparation for invasion. greg dawson reports. loaded with more than 150 tomahawk cruise missiles, the uss michigan docks in south korean waters. it's normally a routine event but these are far from normal times. it's notjust the submarine, south korean media reports on wednesday morning the us military began moving part of a missile defence system into its new site. it's designed to intercept

and destroy short and medium—range ballistic missiles. across the border in pyongyang, they've been celebrating the 85th anniversary of the north korean army. it was marked with long—range artillery drills and threatening words from the country's foreign ministry. translation: now that the us has pulled out its sword to kill us, we will also pull out our grand sword ofjustice and fight to the end. and we will kill the us imperialists with our strong and revolutionary power. north korea feels provoked by the incoming group of warships, led by the us aircraft carrier carl vinson. dispatched by president trump amid warnings that us patience is running out, pyongyang has recently threatened to sink the carrier. we have to be very careful. i want the trump administration policy to work. but i think they should cool down the rhetoric, cool down... "0h, let's have a pre—emptive military strike." don't say that. just say, "all options are on the table." because i have negotiated with the north koreans. they are unpredictable.

on wednesday, donald trump will take the unusual step of inviting all 100 us senators to the white house to discuss korea. all members of the house of representatives will also be briefed. this may be donald trump's trickiest foreign policy challenge by far, but it is one the president seems determined to address. greg dawson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: what does a critically endangered rhino do when it needs a mate? well, it goes to an online dating site of course. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government to build better government housing. internationally, there have already been protests.

sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7:00am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump has indicated he will postpone plans to seek billions of american taxpayer dollars to fund a wall along the mexican border. democrats said they would block

the funding request. president trump's daughter ivanka has been meeting the german chancellor, her first international trip since she was given an official position in the administration. she found herself obliged to defend his attitudes towards women, to a chorus of groans from the audience. jenny hill reports from berlin. taking her place among the world's most powerful women, the first daughter, rubbing shoulders with a chancellor, a queen and a banker. though, almost immediately, ivanka trump found herself defending a president. the delegates here weren't impressed. he's been a tremendous champion of supporting families, and enabling them to thrive, in the new reality of... booing. you hear the reaction from the audience, so i need to... still, donald trump's special adviser persisted. as a daughter, i can speak

on a very personal level, knowing that he encouraged me and enabled me to thrive. i grew up in a house where there was no barriers to what i could accomplish. and the first daughter has gone on to make powerfulfriends. she has accompanied herfather to talks with the leaders of canada, japan and germany. her first solo overseas trip was at the direct invitation of the german chancellor. do you consider yourself a feminist? angela merkel‘s official agenda... interesting reaction! ...empowering women, and charming one in particular. berlin wants, needs, stronger ties to the trump administration. translation: it's the strategy of dialogue. that's the most important thing. you can reach trump through his daughter. every woman should do things by her own, and by her own status, and by her own positions, and not because of her father's position.

what you are seeing here may well mark a profound shift in the way that germany, europe, does business with the united states. ivanka trump wields significant influence with her father. the relationship that angela merkel and other leaders strike with the first daughter will be closely scrutinised on both sides of the atlantic. expect to see more of the first daughter on the international stage. in the age of trump, it seems, family comes first. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. let's turn our attention to the french presidential election. both candidates, the nationalist marine le pen and centrist emmanuel macron, appeared at tuesday's ceremony to honour the policeman shot dead last week when a gunman opened fire on the champs—elysees in paris. later in the day, they were back on the campaign trail, with their messages as far apart as ever. translation: i know that my rival

has a bit of a disembodied vision. he only sees cities. he is essentially only speaking to them. people he sees as the winners of globalisation. he is the candidate of the oligarchy. i am the candidate of the oligarchy. i am the candidate of the oligarchy. i am the candidate of the people. that is perhaps one of the people. that is perhaps one of the people. that is perhaps one of the absolutely fundamental differences between us. translation: today there are two clear offers. 0n one side madame le pen, who was offering hatred of one another, economic disaster, and a weakening of the working classes, and the middle classes, and our economy. and oi'i middle classes, and our economy. and on the other hand, the progressive candidate. 0ne on the other hand, the progressive candidate. one that will make france is successful in an efficient and fair way, is successful in an efficient and fairway, ina is successful in an efficient and fair way, in a stronger europe. royal robbins was an all—american rock—climbing hero. he made ground—breaking ascents, and pioneered new techniques. royal died last month at the age of 82, so we asked three great us climbers to tell us why he is still such an inspirational figure.

iam the i am the founder of patagonia. i met royal at stony point in the san fernando valley, where we kind of all learned to climb. we were lucky to be part of the golden age of yosemite climbing. in to be part of the golden age of yosemite climbing. “119611, to be part of the golden age of yosemite climbing. “11964, royal yosemite climbing. in 1964, royal asked me to come along on the first ascent of the north american wall. i had always told my parents that i was a climber, but didn't know what that meant. then one day they are looking at the television, and on the nightly news, there was a helicopter going by the north american wall at help cap, and they zoomed in on these crazy guys hanging from hammocks. my parents

just about fell off their sofa. the first time in their lives they realised what climbing really meant. when they did it it was probably the most difficult rock climb that had been done ever. it was his idea to do that rock climb, and he was definitely the leader. do that rock climb, and he was definitely the leaderlj do that rock climb, and he was definitely the leader. i am a professional climber, and i think i owe a professional climber, and i think i owe a lot to him. you know, ithink you know, i think royal '5 legacy is probably clean climbing, his contribution to the clean climbing effort, where the challenges more internal, and less about the gear, less about overcoming the mountain and more about overcoming yourself and more about overcoming yourself and being able to challenge yourself, on the inside. i had heard from his family and some of his

friends that he thought highly of my soloing and stuff, and i can see why, it is in the same spirit of what he was doing. it is pretty exciting that royal robbins knows who i exciting that royal robbins knows wholam, exciting that royal robbins knows who i am, and has an opinion on my climbing. that is pretty cool. robbins was one of the first professional climbers there was in the united states. he brought great awareness to climbing. this is a day when there was newspapers, radio and three television stations. all of us that do the sport today, for a living, we have an immense gratitude to royal for showing us the way. millions use social media and dating apps, tinder, of course, one of the most popular. now, a new singleton hasjoined up,

hoping for romance. but this bachelor is a bit of an animal, as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. meet sudan. he is literally one—of—a—kind, the last male northern white rhino on earth. and what do you do if you are feeling lonely these days? go online. tinder is going to broadcast, launch, a profile for our rhino sudan. it's going to be broadcasted in 190 countries, and in 14 languages, which is really the first time tinder does something like that, to that scale. on his profile, sudan claims to perform well under pressure, says he likes to eat grass and chill in the mud,

and admits to being six—foot tall and weighing 5,000 pounds. that is over 200 kilograms. 0bviously sudan is not really looking to hook up online. this is all about raising about $9 million needed for fertility treatment, sudan having failed to breed successfully the old—fashioned way with two northern white rhinos. but there are thousands of southern white rhinos who might be able to help. this is something which is going to have to be replicated and done at scale, and then we will have a breeding programme in kenya, to continue to build the number of northern whites, so that eventually we will have sufficient numbers, ultimately, to be able to reintroduce them back into the national park. the whole project could take ten or even 15 years, and sudan is 43. that is almost 100 in rhino years. so swipe right while you can. hi there.

it felt pretty chilly at times yesterday, didn't it? it was even cold enough for some snow on the ground up in the highlands of scotland. not bad going for late april. you can see the snow cover here at kincraig in the highlands. and we even had a dusting of snow further south, as far south as staffordshire, up in the north—west midlands. those showers have been feeding in, then, on a brisk north—easterly wind, but over more recent hours, we've seen those showers tending to become confined more to coastal districts, northern scotland, around the eastern side of england, western wales, and cornwall as well. but, as we go through the day today, we are going to see a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers. plenty of these thunderclouds will be developing as the day goes by, particularly across eastern stretches of england. and it is going to be a chilly start to the morning. there should be plenty of sunshine around, yes, but showers from the word go near to the east coast of england, and tending to move inland pretty quickly as the day goes by. there will be some pockets of frost also around,

across parts of the midlands, maybe south—west england and wales, but soon melting away, with plenty of blue sky and sunshine here. those winds continue to feed in the showers to the east coast of england, one or two for northern ireland, and showers continuing to feed in across scotland. there will continue to be some snow up in the hills of scotland, above around 100—200 metres elevation, in the morning. so some wintriness here, perhaps a little bit of iciness around as well, and perhaps a bit of sleet in some of the heavy showers during the morning across eastern counties of england, and maybe a dusting of snow for the north york moors. aside from that, though, i think it's going to be heavy rain showers that we see developing through the afternoon. and spilling inland across the midlands, covering much of east anglia, south—east england, where the showers will be particularly heavy, some hail and thunder mixed in, another coolish—feeling day, temperatures 9—12 degrees. colder, though, as those showers move through. the temperatures will drop away for a time. now, looking at wednesday night, things will begin to turn a little bit less cold across northern and western areas, as cloudier weather spills in, bringing some spots of rain with it. but further south, with any

lengthy clear spells, we could well see a frost developing. and it could be quite a damaging frost, the lowest temperatures perhaps getting down to maybe about —3 degrees or so. so it will be a cold start to thursday morning. and, as this streak of cloud comes in, bringing some less—cold air with it, it probably won't feel a whole lot different across southern counties because, although the air is less cold, we lose the sunshine. so cloudier weather, probably not feeling too great underneath those leaden skies. temperatures 11 or 12 degrees, some spots of rain arriving through the afternoon. brighter conditions for the north and west. by friday, we will still have a few showers knocking around. most of them will be near to the east coast of england. sunny spells elsewhere. temperatures recovering, highs of 15 degrees in london. that's your weather. this is bbc world news. the headlines: another of president trump's election pledges has suffered a setback. he's having to delay trying to secure funds from american taxpayers for his wall along the mexican border. democrats in congress are blocking his request forfederalfunds. aid agencies have told the bbc they now consider the middle east the global hub for the

trafficking of human organs. the flow of refugees from syria has created new opportunities to exploit desperate and vulnerable people. american troops have begun installing parts of an advanced anti—missile defence system in south korea. it's a response to the risk of ballistic missile attack from the north. president trump's daughter, ivanka, has been obliged to defend his attitude towards women. at a conference in germany, there were groans from the audience when she claimed he was an advocate for women's interests. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.